


let's just keep this simple

by haedal (hyuckiesuckle)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Hybrids, M/M, markhyuck are cute, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:47:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyuckiesuckle/pseuds/haedal
Summary: It's not normal to see a pudu hybrid and lion hybrid be as close as they are, but Donghyuck and Mark don't care.They've never cared about what the world thinks of them, and never will.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 8
Kudos: 394
Collections: 99' ft 00' fic fest





	let's just keep this simple

**Author's Note:**

> this is prompt #FT166
> 
> i had a lot of fun writing this :D enjoy!

Donghyuck likes his history of hybrids class.

It's a requirement for everyone in the school to take so he's in the class with Mark, his best friend, even if they're in different grades. The two of them more often than not spend the time texting each other.

Their teacher is chill even if he has the most monotone voice that he's ever heard in his life. It's the perfect combination that results in napping. Donghyuck has considered telling his teacher about his vast potential in making ASMR content, but he's not sure if he would take offense in his voice being called boring but soothing.

On a normal day, Donghyuck spends the first five minutes attempting to pay attention before he nods off. and that's what he would usually be doing if he wasn't being stared at within an inch of his life.

Park Minhyuk is the bane of his existence. The older boy, a hare hybrid, seemingly enjoys staring daggers into him every day without fail. It's not like Donghyuck has ever spoken to him either, at most only ever seeing him in the hallways before they had this class together.

Donghyuck isn't a fan of confrontation and he doesn't want more people staring at him for things other than being a rare sort of hybrid, so he stays quiet and ignores him.

He rests his head on the desk, sighing as he realizes he's not gonna be sleeping anytime soon.

The droning of his teacher continues. Turning his head, he makes eye contact with Mark. The lion hybrid sleepily smiles at him, closing his eyes after a few seconds. The interaction doesn't last long, but it floods him with warmth.

The bell ringing makes him jump. He gathers his supplies as slowly as possible, waiting until Minhyuk walks past him before he gets up.

It backfires a bit. Minhyuk is speaking with their teacher, glancing at him as soon as he stands up. Donghyuck can see him trying to politely step out of the conversation, but it's too late. He rushes out of the room, not sparing the boy another glance.

"You took your sweet time," Mark says, waiting for him by the door. "I'm gonna be late for band practice at this rate."

He has dried drool at the corner of his mouth. How he still manages to look cute as he complains about how slow he is, Donghyuck doesn't know.

"You don't have to wait for me," Donghyuck points out, walking past him. The hallways are mostly cleared out by now, most people leaving as soon as possible. He sneaks a look behind them, sighing in relief when he sees no one's following them.

"Of course I did," he says, offended. "Who else is gonna walk me to rehearsals?"

"You're such a baby," Donghyuck grins, reaching up quickly to pinch his cheeks. His heart beats a bit quicker as Mark turns red, scowling as he bats his hands away.

"You weren't napping when I glanced over, I was surprised." Mark says, changing the subject.

"I couldn't," Donghyuck sighs. "Minhyuk was being creepy and staring holes into the back of my head again. How can I relax when he wants to kill me or something?"

"You do have a very nice, round head," Mark hums, wincing when he smacks him on the shoulder. "It's a compliment!" he whines.

"That doesn't give him an excuse to glare at me the entire class." he groans.

"You're right. Want me to talk to him?"

He pretends not to notice when Mark casually slips his hand into his own, glancing to the side so the lion hybrid can't see his cheeks turn pink.

"You're about as intimidating as an angry kitten," he mutters. "What's that gonna do? I'll just deal with it myself."

Mark hums in thought, staring at him. "You're really scary when you want to be," he grins. "If I were Minhyuk I'd be _terrified_."

Donghyuck puffs up a bit, squeezing Mark's hand in his grip.

"Is Johnny coming to pick you up or do you need a ride?" Mark asks as they get closer to the band room. "You can chill at the back of the room if you wanna wait for me."

"Johnny's coming," he says, walking just a bit slower.

"Cool, cool," Mark nods. They walk the rest of the way to the band room in silence, their hands still clasped together.

It's not something they talk about, whatever the hell is going on between them. All Donghyuck knows is that he likes holding Mark's hand, likes how flustered he gets whenever he kisses his cheek. Platonic or not, Donghyuck definitely has feelings for him.

He lets go of Mark's hand first when they're outside of the band room. He ignores the disappointed look on Mark's face, sure that he has the same expression on his own.

"See you later," he finally says after a few seconds of silence.

"See you later," Mark echoes, disappearing inside the room with one final look at him.

...

Mark wakes up from an afternoon nap on his couch because of a banging on his door.

He jolts awake, blearily rubbing his eyes. The sun is still out, thank God, he didn't accidentally sleep the entire afternoon. His school clothes are a bit wrinkled from sleeping, something that will make his mother angry. He should've changed into something more comfortable before he passed out, but oh well.

He sits there for a few seconds, already forgetting why he woke up. Then the door rattles again.

"Mark Lee, I know you're in there!" he hears a familiar voice say.

"Coming!" he yells, stumbling off the couch and toward the door.

“You're too slow!”

Mark takes a hasty step back as his best friend charges inside his house, watching as he slams the door loud enough to make Mark flinch. How there can be so much power in his thin body, Mark has no idea.

“Let me hide here for a bit?” the pudu hybrid begs, ears perked up. They twitch a bit nervously as Mark just stares at him, attempting to process all that happened in the past ten seconds.

It's not normal for them to be friends, not really. Mark is considered to be at the top of the food chain, raised to be a leader and contribute to society in some great way. Donghyuck isn't the kind of person he should associate with, not when he's endangered and the world thinks he should be locked away somewhere to be safe.

Not that Mark has ever agreed with the world. He'll tear through anyone that tries to take Donghyuck away from him.

His best friend looks at him hopefully, blinking his wide eyes a bit obnoxiously. It’s a dangerous look, one that Mark is completely and utterly weak against. Like always, he averts his gaze to just below Donghyuck’s eyes. Small, white dots adorn his cheeks and nose, almost like freckles, but in Mark’s incredibly biased opinion, they were one thousand percent cuter.

It’s not like Donghyuck to go out in public without attempting to conceal them, something about how people always stared and he couldn’t stand it.

"Thank god they fade eventually," he remembers the younger saying. Mark resigns himself to admiring the white dots while they're still here.

An annoyingly high pitched whine snaps him out of his daze. Donghyuck juts his bottom lip out, looking more and more ridiculous by the second.

If there’s anyone in this world who has perfected the art of pouting, it’s Lee Donghyuck.

“Let me guess,” he sighs, and the younger boy relaxes. “Johnny?”

Donghyuck nods in response, his pout disappearing just as fast as it had appeared. A groan of annoyance leaves his mouth as he face plants onto the couch. "I asked to go to the mall with Jeno and he immediately offered to chaperone. I asked him to go upstairs and grab my bag and then ran."

“You know hiding isn't gonna work,” he says after a moment of silence. “Johnny knows your scent by heart. And this is your favorite 'hiding spot.'”

Mark is already expecting the bear hybrid to barge inside within the next half hour, but he doesn't say that.

“I know,” Donghyuck sighs, slowly sitting up. His fluffy brown hair is a bit tousled, and Mark’s hand twitches as he resists the urge to fix it for him. “I can’t go to the restroom without him wanting to take guard outside to ‘protect’ me or something. It’s insane.”

Mark gets it, but he can’t exactly say that without risking Donghyuck getting angry at him. He knows that the younger boy hates being coddled, hates the fact that everyone looks at him as he’s walking in the hallways for being “exotic.” And yet, something about Donghyuck just made it so easy to want to wrap him up in bubble wrap and protect him from the world.

“He just worries,” he offers a bit weakly.

Donghyuck sighs. “I know, but there's really no point in it. I can take care of myself just fine, he just thinks everyone's out to get me. Pudus aren't even _cute_ , they're like cat-sized rats. That's kinda horrifying to think about actually."

"What's the point here again?"

"The point is, he thinks I'm some sort of damsel in distress that's gonna collapse the second he takes his eyes off me. Don't think I don't notice the two of you making sure I'm never alone at school. I know I'm probably not the stronger person physically, but I can play dirty."

“You’re the strongest person I know,” Mark says, brows furrowed.

“Letting me win at arm wrestling doesn’t count.”

Mark clears his throat, hoping his red ears don’t give away his embarrassment at being caught. The fact that the younger hybrid hadn't picked up on the fact that their arm wrestling matches were an excuse to hold his hand was a blessing.

“I don't let you win,” he laughs nervously, voice pitched higher than normal.

At another of Donghyuck's disbelieving looks, Mark gives up.

"We can start going to the gym together?" he offers, sitting down next to the pudu hybrid. Donghyuck instantly cuddles into his side, a comforting warmth.

"Maybe..." the younger boy looks lost in thought. "Though even that probably won't make Johnny stop seeing me as a baby that needs constant supervision."

Donghyuck looks ridiculous, pouting while speaking, the skin on his chin slightly creased as he thinks. It's cute. Everything he does is cute.

Thinking mournfully of the homework he won't be doing, he grabs his phone and opens up Johnny's messages.

 _Hyuck's with me_ , he ends up texting Johnny. _I'm going with him to the mall, so don't worry_.

"Let's head out then," he yawns, standing up and stretching. His tail lazily flicks behind him.

Donghyuck blinks, ears perking up. "You're coming with?"

"It's either me or Johnny," he shrugs. "And I'm pretty sure I won't be as annoying as your older brother following you around the whole time."

"You are a necessary evil then," he nods, standing up. "Let's go. Jeno's meeting us there."

Mark almost runs into him at the doorway, catching himself at the last minute. "Hyuck?"

"I hope you know as soon as we get there we're going to try and lose you," the younger boy says as a challenge.

"As if," Mark smirks. "I could give you a head start and still find you."

"Is that a bet?"

"You're on. Loser has to pay for the movie we're seeing later."

"Deal."

...

"Yesterday was fun," Donghyuck says cheerfully, sitting next to Jeno at their usual table in the cafeteria.

The dog hybrid glares at him, ears twitching.

"I don't wanna third wheel between you guys again," Jeno groans. "I almost threw up from how nauseatingly cute you two were."

"You weren't third wheeling!"

"You two had a whole weird cat and mouse chase thing in the beginning," Jeno raises an eyebrow. "And then you two were holding hands the whole time and even giggled every time your hand made contact during the movie."

Donghyuck closes his mouth, feeling his entire face turn warm.

"I hope you two will talk about it soon," Jeno says, taking a bite out of his apple. "Anyone with eyes can see you two like each other."

Donghyuck blushes. "Maybe so... but still..."

"What? You think because he's a lion he's out of your league?"

"Not at all!" Donghyuck shakes his head. "He's just so... cute."

“You’re even cuter though,” Jeno says, smiling at him. Donghyuck isn’t fast enough to dodge the fingers that pinch at his cheeks, but he does manage to lightly scratch his friend’s hand. The dog hybrid lets go with an exaggerated pout.

“I know I’m cute,” he scowls. “You’re just not allowed to say it.”

Jeno coos at him, gently patting him on the head. Donghyuck should be in the library studying for a history quiz next class, but he was never one capable of refusing Jeno’s pout.

His friend grins, tapping his fingers on the table as he looks around the cafeteria, seemingly looking for someone. “Does it mean more when Mark calls you cute?” he wonders, before perking up as he spots the older boy.

Donghyuck looks down, suddenly inspecting his tray with intense focus. Even though he can’t see it, Jeno’s smug grin radiates toward him. He stabs a small grape with his fork, angrily shoving it in his mouth. “I’m not answering that.”

“Mark!” Jeno calls out, ignoring the sudden jabs in his side as Donghyuck panics.

The boy in question pauses from where he's talking to a few of his friends. Donghyuck watches them push him teasingly toward them. He can't help but frown even as Mark laughs, walking closer to them.

“What’s up?” the lion hybrid grins at them, choosing to sit across from his best friend.

Donghyuck tries very hard to look busy with his notes, underlining random words all while attempting to communicate with Jeno via telepathy.

 _Don’t you dare say a word_ , he thinks, accidentally breaking his pencil lead with how hard he presses against the paper. _Or I’ll hurt you._

“You think Hyuckie is cute, right?” his friend says, oblivious to Donghyuck’s innermost thoughts.

He winces as Donghyuck stabs him in the thigh with his mechanical pencil.

The two of them watch as Mark chokes on his own spit, ears cherry red. Letting out an awkward laugh, he rubs the back of his neck.

“Of course,” Mark answers, not looking at any of them. “He’s the cutest.”

The amount of blood rushing to his cheeks could not be healthy. Donghyuck coughs, the sudden noise bringing Mark’s attention to him.

“Was someone making fun of you?” Mark frowns. “Don’t listen to them, Hyuck. Anyone who can’t see how beautiful you are is blind.”

“See, Hyuck?” Jeno grins at him. “Mark thinks you’re beautiful,” he drags the last word out, smile widening as he sees both Donghyuck and Mark blush.

"I guess you're not too bad," he says eventually. "Not as handsome as Jeno, definitely."

"Don't drag me into this!"

Mark and Donghyuck share a look, the two of them erupting into giggles.

...

After the quiz in history which Donghyuck definitely aces, he attempts to nap.

It doesn't work, partly because of Minhyuk's weird staring, and partly because Mark gets called

"Mark Lee?" his teacher speaks up. "You're needed in the principal's office."

Donghyuck watches Mark leave, sticking his tongue out at the boy when he turns back to look at him.

Time flies after that with Donghyuck zoning in and out, wondering when Mark was going to come back. The bells rings before that happens, and he resigns himself to going to search for his friend.

He stays still until Minhyuk is gone, nodding to his teacher as he steps outside the door. His locker is further down the hall but he doesn't pay attention to where he's going, too busy pulling out his phone to text Mark.

 _where r u ?_ he texts, watching as three bubbles pop up on Mark's side of the conversation.

"It's rare to find you walking around without your little guard dogs," he hears someone say.

He turns around to see Minhyuk. The rabbit hybrid is standing in front of his locker, arms crossed on his chest. Donghyuck is already done. He pockets his phone, not bothering to read Mark's message.

“Fuck off,” he scowls, pushing past the other boy who moves surprisingly easily.

"That's not a nice thing to say to a friend," the boy smiles, and it's not a nice one. Donghyuck isn't opposed to making friends. He's usually content with being neutral with most people, but something about Minhyuk made him want to punch his teeth out.

"I wouldn't call us friends," he says dryly, grabbing the last of his books. He shuts the locker behind him loudly, hoping that's enough to get him to leave him alone. "Bye."

“And where do you think you’re going?” Minhyuk scoffs.

Donghyuck doesn’t flinch as a big hand reaches out to grab his forearm. A low growl of warning tears through his throat, but the other boy only laughs at him.

“That was the most adorable growl I’ve ever heard,” the prick says with a condescending smile. "Do you think you're gonna scare me off with that?"

"I'd like to see you do better than that," Donghyuck quips.

Then Minhyuk's shoving Donghyuck against a locker.

His head hits the metal with a loud thump and his vision goes black for a few seconds. Even through the pain he’s already throwing a punch, hoping it connects.

It does, and the resulting 'smack' is music to his ears. His fist throbs in pain but he ignores it. Summoning his most annoying smirk, the one that makes Mark's eye start twitching, he looks up at his classmate.

There's a bruise blossoming on the side of Minhyuk's face. Pride floods through his veins for a second, before he has to move when the hybrid makes a mad grab for him.

He lets out a hiss as the boy grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer. His warm breath hits his face, the stench making him grimace.

"We've all seen you with that lion hybrid. Did you really think no one was going to talk? Someone like him with someone like you... it just doesn't make sense. Go and focus on making more pudu babies."

"Excuse me?" he can't believe what he's hearing. Donghyuck struggles in Minhyuk's grip, stepping hard on his foot. The hare hybrid yelps, letting him go.

"You heard me," Minhyuk grits out. "Stay in your own league."

"Careful there," he smiles. His fingers twitch in the need to punch him again as blood roars in his ears. "It sounds like you're jealous. Of who, though?"

Minhyuk flushes angrily, hand coming up to hit him.

"What the hell is going on here?" he turns to see Mark approaching them quickly, eyes dark and face eerily blank.

Just the sight of him has Donghyuck breathing a sigh of relief. Even then, he doesn't take his eyes off of Minhyuk.

"None of your damn business," Minhyuk says. Donghyuck walks over to where his friend is standing, standing beside him. Mark reaches out to him first, holding onto his hand tightly.

Mark lets out a low growl from his throat startling all three of them.

"Get out of here," he says. "Now. Don't bother Donghyuck again."

Minhyuk glares at them, huffing as he walks away.

"Are you okay?" Mark asks as soon as he's gone.

“I didn't need your help," Donghyuck says, a frown on his face. He turns to walk away, letting go of Mark's hand. "I had that handled."

The two of them leave the school in silence.

“I know,” Mark says, the words coming out rushed. “You can handle anything that gets thrown at you. But I heard what he said," he continues. "And he was wrong, Hyuck. You're in your own league."

"You think I don't know that?" Donghyuck rolls his eyes, even as a thrum of happiness courses through him. "Anybody would be lucky to be with me. You're not an exception."

Mark smiles at him, giving him a look that Donghyuck has started to associate with love.

How embarrassing. This time it's Donghyuck reaching out to hold his hand. He smiles when Mark doesn't pull away.

"Let's go home," he says, clearing his throat. He stares resolutely at the ground, watching tile turn to gravel as they step outside.

"Okay," Mark agrees, beaming at him.

When Donghyuck turns to look at him, they're both blushing a bright pink.

They still haven't discussed whatever is happening with them but Donghyuck is fine with that. He's sure they're about to sit down and talk about it anyway. Despite the nervous butterflies in his tummy, he can't help but look forward to it.

As long as it's the two of them, he knows they'll be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope the prompter liked this~~! thank u for reading :3


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